CAKE Music Video "War Pigs"

Man, Cake did a great job on this old Black Sabbath song. Funny how after 28 years this song is still as pertinent today as it was then. HT

www.cakemusic.com

THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOUR CREDIT NOW

Posted: Friday, January 18 at 04:32 am CT by Bob Sullivan

The folks who invented the credit score for lenders are hard at work developing a similar tool for hospitals and other health care providers.

The project, dubbed “MedFICO” in some early press reports, will aid hospitals in assessing a patient’s ability to pay their medical bills. But privacy advocates are worried that the notorious errors that have caused frequent criticism of the credit system will also cause trouble with any attempt to create a health-related risk score. They also fear that a low score might impact the quality of the health care that patients receive.

Fair Issac Corp., developer of the FICO credit score, is one of several investors in Healthcare Analytics, the Massachusetts start-up that is developing the hospital risk tool. Another investor is Tenet Healthcare Corp, one of the nation's largest hospital operators. Stephen Farber, who resigned as chief financial officer of Tenet in 2004, is the CEO of Healthcare Analytics.

Several published reports have described Healthcare Analytics product as a MedFICO score, computed in a way that would be familiar to those who've used credit scores. The firm is gathering payment history information from large hospitals around the country, according to a magazine called Inside ARM, aimed at “accounts receivable management” professionals. It will then analyze that data to predict how likely patients will be to pay future medical bills. As with credit reports and scores, patients who've failed to pay past bills will be deemed less likely to pay future bills.

The idea sounds ominous to Pam Dixon, who runs the World Privacy Forum, which studies medical privacy issues.

"This is a bad idea and I don't think this benefits the consumer at all," Dixon said. "And what about victims of medical ID theft? Are we going to deny treatment to these people because they have a terrible MedFICO score?"

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I knew it was coming to this. The so called "Health Care" industry has become nothing but big business catering to it's stockholders. If they charged a "Fair" price for their services it would be different. They charge what they want because we have no alternative. Ninety percent or more of us are now one accident or sickness away from bankruptcy. I think it's time for a decision on national health care. I say my taxes go to help our own citizens instead of the blowing up and then rebuilding of Iraq. Not to mention all the illegal immigrants we are now supporting. I would love to see a little return on my investment in this country. Hillary says she is willing to try to fix it and I'm ready to give her a shot at it.

Welcome to America! Now Speak English or Get the Hell Out! HT

Bet You Didn’t Know This Is How A Sewing Machine Works

Published on January 13th, 2008

Posted by Uncle Dave in General

http://www.dvorak.org/blog/

Now this is KOOL!

They're On a Roll:

For those who follow the progress of North Shore Animal League America's famous Chihuahua trio, Venus, Carmen and Pablo, there's news: these charming dogs, born without their front legs and rescued by the League from a Virginia shelter, now have front-wheel drive, in the form of carts that will assist their mobility.

The three have been practicing getting about and eating using their new, custom-built, aluminum carts with Velcro-held polar fleece padding for comfortable body support and lightweight foam wheels. Constructed by Eddie's Wheels of Shelburne Falls, MA, the carts, used for 10-minute periods at a time, help the dogs maneuver and eliminate some of the stress on their lower spines from walking on their hind legs and from the lack of proper posture.

The Chihuahuas are each missing their front legs as he result of a birth defect believed to be the result of irresponsible over breeding also known as backyard breeding. Normal in every other way, the pups seem unaware of their disability and have accepted the challenge of their new carts much as they did the challenge to learn to balance themselves on their back legs. There's another heartwarming footnote to their story. The three now live in their "forever" home, adopted together by a North Shore Animal League America Veterinary Technician, with whom they have bonded, and under whose care they have thrived.

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N.J. Limits Web For Some Sex Offenders, Law Restricts Web Access For Convicts Who Used Internet To Help Them Commit Their Crimes - CBS News

Convicted sex offenders who used the Internet to help them commit their crimes will be banned from using the Internet under a measure signed into law Thursday.

The bill applies to people who, for example, lured a potential victim through e-mail or other electronic messages. It also affects paroled sex offenders under lifetime supervision, but exempts computer work done as part of a job or search for employment.

"We live in scary times," said Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, who signed the bill because Gov. Jon S. Corzine is vacationing in the Caribbean.

Under the law, sex offenders will have to let the state Parole Board know about their access to computers. Those caught using the Internet would face 18 months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Convicted sex offenders will have to submit to periodic, unannounced examinations of their computer equipment and install equipment on their computers so their use can be monitored.

Parole officers can also order polygraph tests for convicts suspected of violating the Internet ban, said Parole Board Chairman Peter Barnes.

A Christmas to Remember

This is Donna's account of her experience the other day. I must admit, it "bumfuzzled" me.

Christmas 2007 about 3pm

I had just walked across the road from my mother's house and was on my way inside our home to get some stocking stuffers I had forgotten and as I opened our front door something caught my eye and as I looked to the left to see what it was, I noticed someone kneeling down in front of the graves in our pet cemetery located near the edge of our yard. I went inside and got what I was looking for and put the leash on my chihuahua, Blue, and went back outside and then noticed that the figure was still there so I decided to check it out. Strange I thought. Someone kneeling near the corner of our yard in front of our pets' graves on Christmas day.

I walked down the well worn path toward the cemetery and as I approached I noticed that they did not move or offer to rise from the kneeling position. They had on a dark carcoat with a wide brimmed dark hat. As I got next to the figure, they turned to look at me and I noticed it was a woman with dishwater blond hair and she appeared to be about 40 years old. She had tears rolling down her face and she said, "I just wanted to pay tribute." I said "Oh". Then she said,as she looked toward Erica's grave, "She didn't live very long, did she?" I said "No, she was born with a bad heart and lived longer than anyone thought she would. She was very special and loved by all who knew her. Andy came by this morning to see her. She had a wonderful life and was pampered. She is missed terribly."

Then she said, "He lived a good long life" as she looked at Barney's grave. I said, "Yes, he did." Then she looked back at Erica's grave again and I noticed that the tears were still falling and that she had not even offered to wipe the tears away as most people do. I felt strange and was bewildered. I did not know what else to say and actually felt like I had been an intrusion even though she seemed very friendly. I said, "Merry Christmas" as Blue and I turned to walk back down the path and she said, "Merry Christmas to you too."

As I walked in the door of my mother's home, I said that I had just had a very extraordinary experience and then proceeded to tell her what had just happened. She asked if the lady was still there and I said that I did not know. She asked if Blue had barked at her, as he does with almost everyone. I realized then that he had not. Strange. She asked if I thought I had just seen a spirit and I said that I did not think so. After a few minutes we walked back to the cemetery together and no one was there but there were footprints, and knee prints where she had been. There was no one else in sight. I had so many questions. For instance, Why hadn't I asked who she was, or where she was from, or if she needed anything, and how she had come to be in our pet cemetery on Christmas? However, it was too late now to ask. Why hadn't I asked as I stood there with her earlier? Why was I transfixed and so flabbergasted that I had not thought to ask her anything about herself? I had only answered questions and said Merry Christmas! So unlike me, I am always full of questions and never at a loss for words--until now. Who had she been? Why was she here today? Where was she headed? I suppose I will never know.

Our love-hate relationship with cell phones

Verizon Wireless and Alltell had the highest overall scores in the 20 markets Consumer Reports surveyed. But T-Mobile was close on their heels. In most cities, it matched Verizon’s customer satisfaction rates. And the editors say T-Mobile plans “generally offer more for the money than those of Verizon and Alltel.

In a few cities, such as Philadelphia and Tampa, AT&T is also in the running. Even so, Consumer Reports says it “trails the better carriers in almost all respects.”

Sprint was the clear loser, rating the lowest in all of the markets surveyed except Minneapolis-St. Paul. Customers in most cities rated Sprint worse than the competition for dropped calls, customer service, and overall satisfaction.

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Sprint also rated poorly in the latest J.D Power and Associates Wireless Customer Satisfaction Index. The survey, based on responses from 22,158 wireless users was released in October. Sprint rated lowest in every region of the country.

Sprint tells me the company has been working hard to improve its network and customer service. It’s opened a new customer service center and hired more service representatives.

“We believe this will pay off in better results in future customer satisfaction surveys,” says spokesperson Roni Singleton. “We still have some challenges, but we are planning an even greater emphasis on improving the customer experience.”

Hamblen County, TN "Local illegal immigration enforcement initiative won’t fly, official says"

The federal government does not have the resources to house illegal immigrants arrested in Hamblen County or to transport them to their countries of origin.

That’s the message Hamblen County Sheriff Esco Jarnagin said he received recently from a federal official in Washington D.C.

Jarnagin declined to identify the messenger, who effectively hobbled the legislative initiative to allow local law enforcement officials to enforce some federal immigration laws.

"The money was not there," Jarnagin said this morning. "It was a breakdown in the federal aspect of it.

"What frustrated me is that the federal government is not preventing illegal aliens from coming across the border, and we are not getting any support when illegal aliens overrun a community," the sheriff added.

http://www.citizentribune.com/news/view_sections.asp?idcategory=9&idarticle=7899